mallen9595

I apologize if this would have warranted a new thread, but has been helpful. I'm trying to decide between Night 3D, Chris Bell's product, and the others mentioned here. My only requirement is that I won't buy anything that employs DRM/product activation, though I'm ok with serial numbers. Night 3D is currently on sale and covers a lot of area for little money, but the performance is likely to be an issue unless things have changed. Mr. Bell's scenery looks good, although there appears to be an issue with the purchasing page. System specs are i5-3570k, 8GB, GTX550Ti, Win7 x64 Pro, no internet, AV, etc. FSX runs smooth as butter. I'm considering a GPU upgrade (probably a 960 or 970) but don't know when, so I might put up with marginal performance for awhile, but don't want something that would bring one of those newer cards to its knees. mods: Feel free to move if warranted.

I've bought Carenado aircraft from third-party retailers (Aerosoft) in the past and haven't found the serial system too intrusive, since it doesn't phone home, and I'll still be able to use my stuff if the company goes tits up. But, one virtual pilot shoppe informed me a few months ago that Carenado (as well as Alabeo) have begun using an activation scheme. True, or not? I understand from the Carenado FAQ page that individual retailers may handle things their own way, so it may be this one retailer.

Ok, well that's over then. Any similar products that are not? Thanks for the quick reply, you saved me some dough! :)

Hi. Quick question since I've gotten some mixed readings searching the net. Does the 737NGX or any of the PMDG products require some activation scheme. Sorry, I don't buy products that use that stuff. I tend to hang on to my investments long after they've gone out of style, lol. I don't care about paying more e.g. buying straight from the manufacturer versus some third-party so if that's a consideration, please let me know where to buy the non-DRM version. And if the 737 is restricted I'm okay with other products that are not.

I have to chime in here even though this thread is 2 months old. Are your products copy-protected or use some form of DRM/product activation? Is something, even if it's only the installer, different than the OEM's products? Here's the deal: If the vendor you bought from applies any kind of DRM, then that changes the game. A lot. It's enough work to code a patch to work with your own product, but many third-parties like Steam add in their own code and tie it to their own service (which is the real reason for DRM, but I digress...) which means the OEM must code patches specific to those vendor's versions of the product as well as their own stuff. Many choose not to. The Steams don't seem to care because that'll just force people to upgrade to the next hot product anyway. It's a win-win for them and a lose-lose for the consumer. I don't know if that applies to your situation but I wanted to put it out there.Carenado's good though in that they don't use DRM or product activation of their own.

I essentially got the same reply from Carenado. That seems very strange though since every other A/C I have for FSX has a standard cockpit visible in the regular cockpit mode (in other words, not VC) including other Carenado planes. Some A/C resort to built-in or standard cockpits, but still have them. The VC panel is very dark and difficult to use.I can deal with just a mostly-functional IFR panel and GPS, but I do think Carenado should have included a reasonably prototypical one or at least advised customers prior to purchase that there is no standard-mode cockpit.

Bump.I did get everything to show by reinstalling, except for the 3D panel. Nothing in the panel or the GPS shows. However, the panel will show in virtual cockpit mode, albeit dark. At SP2.FYI, I don't run a tweaked fsx.cfg file, but I'd be happy to post it if anyone wants a look. The only addons I have installed are Carenado 152, 172 (ski), 337, a Piper Seminole by WSSimulation, and a couple of the Abacus Flight Deck packs.

Hi there! Problem still exists though.Thanks, I tried that advice - I didn't have any service packs applied. SP1 allowed the external textures to show (downside, now pme of my Abacus products wants to connect to the net every time!). But the panel is still completely black. I installed SP2 but that didn't help with the cockpit panel. I did try reinstalling the 337.

So, I bought the Cessna 337 Mixmaster (ok, Skymaster) for FSX. No product activation, painless installation, as pointed out in another thread. However, the airplane appears all black in game! In the preview, the tips and windows are visible, but not the airframe.

Ok, I bought the ski 172N for FSX. The Aerosoft version only needed that you enter your email address and a serial; it seems the serial is generated using your email as a seed, so no contact with the seller is necessary after purchase. Good idea, as it prevents serials from being distributed as easily without having to impose draconian product activation. It was so painless, so I bought the Skymaster 337.

Hi P4CER,Greetings from 39N (Princeton, NJ). Thanks for the input. That sounds like product activation, though. I can't see how any email validation could go through without some kind of validation through some service, be it Carenado's, a third-party vendor, etc.Hi ricky76,Ok, I'll try one from Aerosoft. TBH, I'd love to buy the entire Cessna series, plus a Seneca. i'm going to buy a real one, a late-seventies 172N, in the next few years, but I don't think Carenado's version needs financing...;)

I'm new to Carenado. First things first, is there any kind of product activation required? That's a deal-breaker for me as I like to keep software for DECADES. Seems not to be the case from what I can tell but I want to be sure.That said, I'm looking at getting at least one version of a C-152 and C-172, as well as at least one or two other Cessnas, but am curious as to which sim to buy for. I use FSX by far the most, hands down, followed by FS9. I have X-Plane 9 as well, though I very rarely play it. But if one or more of the Cessnas are good enough in terms of graphics, and especially physics and flyability, then I'd be willing to give it a shot.

Thanks for the reply. This was the reply I got from them, "The serial code simply unlocks VoxATC, otherwise it will not run 7 days after first being installed. This is done locally, no contact is made with a central registration server. It's just a simple mechanism to keep peaple honest with the least possible hassle."Seems the CD version is the way to go.

Just a quick question. Does VoxATC have any kind of DRM or copy protection? I see it has a "registration" system. I don't mind if I just need a code, but if it requires activation, reauthorization each time I reinstall, periodic check-ins, etc. then it's a deaibreaker. I have a habit of keeping and using software decades after it's out of support.